University of Missouri Athletics

AWARDS & HONORS

• 1 U.S. Olympic Trials Finalist
• 1 Pan-American Medalist (3rd Place)
• 1 NACAC (U23) Champion
• 1 European (U23) Finalist
• 1 European Championship Qualifier
• 1 NACAC (18) Champion
• 2 NACAC Finalists
• 3 USA Champions
• 9 Conference Champions
• 13 National Team Members
• 38 All-Americans
• 41 School Record Holders
• 33 NCAA Qualifiers

PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENTS

• Five-time NAIA Champion
• 2004 Olympic Trials Qualifier
• 2002 Balkan Peninsula Track & Field Champion (Triple Jump)
• Multiple publications in the field of biomechanics, physiology and anatomy as related to track & field development

Iliyan Chamov enters his seventh year on the Mizzou coaching staff as the assistant coach in charge of jumps and multi-events. Under Chamov, the Black and Gold jumpers have elevated to a new level.

In his career, Chamov has coached some of the best jumpers to compete for Mizzou, SIUE and Lindenwood. Chamov’s athletes have accumulated 38 All-Americans, 33 NCAA qualifiers, nine conference champions and 41 school record holders during his 11-year coaching career. 

Chamov is a decorated athlete in his own right, as he racked up five NAIA titles in his collegiate career at Lindenwood. Before he moved stateside, Chamov competed for his home country, Bulgaria at the national and international level. He qualified for the 2004 Bulgarian Olympic Trials and won the triple jump competition at the 2002 Balkan Peninsula Track & Field Championships. 

Beginning in 2016, Chamov has taken the Tigers jumpers and multi-event athletes to new heights. The Black and Gold jumpers have earned 13 school records, 16 All-American nods and two conference titles. 

In the 2021-22 campaign, Chamov saw his athletes win conference titles and set school records in a strong season for the jumps and multi-event competitions. A trio of women’s jumpers and a dynamic duo on the men’s team helped put together one of the best seasons for Mizzou’s jumpers with five All-American honors during the outdoor season.

On the women’s team, Arianna Fisher, Mara Häusler and Ayele Gerken each earned second-team All-American nods and carried the load for the Tigers jumpers. Fisher pieced together one of the most prolific individual seasons in program history, breaking two school records and earning All-American recognition with her triple jump prowess in 2022. With a jump of 13.59m at the Tyson Invitational, Fisher wrote her name into Mizzou’s record books with the best indoor triple jump in school history to finish third at the event. In the SEC and NCAA Indoor Championships, Fisher placed in the top 10 with sixth and seventh place finishes, respectively.

In the outdoor season, Fisher continued to shine as she won the Crimson Tide Invitational, then finished fifth at the SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships. At the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Fisher took an 11th-place result to earn second-team All-American honors. 

Fisher’s record-breaking ways were far from over in 2022, as she shattered the program record in the outdoor triple jump at nationals with a 13.63m leap to finish fourth in the event.

Häusler had a great year in the triple jump as well, earning second-team All-American honors in the outdoor season with a 15th-place effort. During the outdoor season, Häusler earned a third-place finish in the triple jump at the Crimson Tide Invitational and registered a fourth-place result at the SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships. In the indoor campaign, Häusler earned a top-10 spot in every competition and wrapped up the season by finishing ninth at the SEC Indoor Championships.

Gerken had a solid showing throughout the 2022 season for the Tigers in the long jump. In the indoor season, the freshman jumped to top-10 results in all three meets she competed in, including a sixth-place jump at the SEC Indoor Championships. After a top-10 finish at the SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Gerken ended her second season in the Black and Gold with a personal-best during the NCAA West Preliminary Round with a 6.48m jump to finish third at the event. Gerken qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships and placed ninth to take home second-team All-American honors in the long jump.

On the men’s team, Roberto Vilches and Georgi Nachev put together all-time great seasons in the high jump and triple jump, respectively. Vilches claimed a conference championship in the high jump at the SEC Indoor Championships. Vilches followed up his conference title showing by placing fifth in the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships.

In the outdoor season, Vilches continued to impress with stellar finishes at the conference and NCAA level. He took fourth place at the SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships and earned first-team All-American honors the next month at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Georgi Nachev put together one of the best seasons in program history in the triple jump in 2021-22. He finished in the top five at every he competed in during the indoor and outdoor season, earning conference and NCAA honors in the process. After taking first place in the triple jump at the Razorback Invitational, Nachev took home the silver medal in the triple jump at the SEC Indoor Championships. Nachev then wrapped up his indoor campaign by placing fourth in the triple jump at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. 

Moving outside didn’t slow down Nachev, as he continued his great junior campaign in the outdoor season. Nachev claimed third place in the triple jump at the SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships and earned first-team All-American recognition in the triple jump at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

The 2020-21 season saw a huge leap in program numbers on the women's side. The group of Euphenie Andre, Arianna Fisher, Mara Hausler and Mirieli Santos sit as the four best marks in program history in the women's triple jump, both indoors and outdoors. In the spring of 2021, the school record swapped names three times, with Fisher staking her claim at the top of both the indoor and outdoor program lists. Her outdoor school record of 13.57m was set at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials and propelled her into the final.

Overall, Chamov has coached the women's triple jump group to seven of the top 10 marks in program history over his tenure at Mizzou.
Ja’Mari Ward enjoyed much success in his three seasons under Chamov’s guidance, as he earned NCAA All-America honors in the long jump NCAA Indoor Track Field Championships in 2018, '19 and '21, and captured the 2017 and 2019 SEC Outdoor Long Jump title. In 2021, Ward finished fourth at the 2021 NCAA Indoor Championships to earn his third All-America nod on the indoor runway.

Ward set a school record and four program top-10 marks in his time in the Black & Gold, as he holds the indoor long jump school record (8.11m/26-7.25), the No. 2 outdoor long jump mark (8.13m/26-8.25), the No. 7 indoor triple jump mark (15.66m/51-4.5) and the No. 9 outdoor triple jump mark (15.44m/50-8). Ward was named the SEC Outdoor Freshman Field Athlete of the Year in 2017, was named to the SEC Indoor All-Freshman team in 2018, and captured the long jump title at the 2017 Pan American Junior Championships.

In 2019, Ward was crowned the American champion at the U.S. Championships in the long jump, defeating two-time Olympic medalist Will Claye in the process. He also captured a gold medal for the American team at the NACAC (U23) in the 4x100m relay as the anchor leg.

During the 2018-19 season, high jumper Roberto Vilches set a number of records under Chamov. Vilches posted the Mizzou record in the indoor high jump with a mark of 2.26m (7-5) at the Missouri Intercollegiate. Viches earned All-American status in the high jump during both the indoor and outdoor 2018-19 seasons. Vilches sits second-all time in the outdoor high jump just behind Olympian Nat Page. Vilches concluded the 2019 season with a third-place finish in the high jump at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.

Besides Vilches recent success, Mizzou’s high jumpers have set three top-10 marks behind Chamov’s guidance, led by Valeria Kostiuk’s school record leap of 1.83m (6-0) in the indoor high jump. Landon Cuskelly holds the No. 5 mark in the outdoor high jump, while Karissa Roman holds the No. 4 mark in the indoor high jump.

In addition, Chamov has also coached three top-10 marks in multi-events, including Rauno Liitmae who set the fifth-best mark in both the heptathlon (5,573 points) and the decathlon (7,524 points) in 2018. In 2016, Chamov led Ser Whitaker to a 16th-place finish in the decathlon at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Under Chamov’s guidance, Whitaker’s personal best score in the decathlon (7,488 points) ranks sixth all-time in program history.

Chamov is a 2006 graduate of the University of Ruse (Bulgaria), where he earned a physical therapy degree and 2012 graduate of Lindenwood University (St. Charles, Mo.), where he earned his undergraduate degree in athletic training and his master's in human performance. 

Upon graduation from Lindenwood, Chamov took an assistant coach role at his alma mater and led the Lions to tremendous success in the NAIA. He mentored seven national champions and 16 All-Americans, including the Trinidad & Tobago national record holder in the indoor high jump, Kevin Huggins. For his success as an athlete and a coach, Chamov was inducted into the Lindenwood Hall of Fame in 2014.

Chamov continued his success to his next position at SIUE beginning in 2013, Chamov continued mentoring an elite-class of jumpers, starting with LaDerrick Ward, who earned three All-American honors and owned the No. 1 long jump mark in the NCAA in 2014.  
Ward, who qualified for the 2013 and 2014 USATF Championships in the long jump, was a member of Team USA for the 2013 Pan-American Sports Festival, where he placed eighth overall. Chamov also helped Ward to an indoor USA Championship title in 2017 in the long jump.

Chamov lives in Columbia with his wife, Celia Chamov. Celia, a six-time NAIA Champion at Lindenwood, serves as the director of operations for the program. Iliyan and Celia welcomed the birth of their daughter, Naomi Essi-Petya, in November 2018.

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